Defending Nontheists and Promoting Humanism

Humanism is a positive progressive worldview that has the potential to transform political and cultural life into one that embraces justice, equality, and better living for all.

In a society where prejudice and discrimination against those who don’t believe in gods or other intervening supernatural powers is common, it is important for advocates to defend their equal rights. Humanists and other nontheists are victims of discrimination in many aspects of life including: the workplace, pharmacies, hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, community centers, institutional chaplaincies, the military, academia, schools, prisons, the media, sports, scouting, government buildings, politics, elections, the courts, memorials, holidays, and even within our own families. Many Americans still hold on to prejudice against nontheists and for some in political power, the concept of “religious freedom” is twisted into a right to discriminate based on religious beliefs in a way that affects all aspects of life. Equal treatment for humanists is thus crucial to achieving full equality.

Promoting the social and educational value added by humanists and other freethinkers is an essential part of the path to a better future. Humanism, like science, self-evaluates and improves itself when confronted with new information. Humanist answers are the best we have available to us, and are simply more effective than those from worldviews trapped by their unchanging ancient texts and subject to the personal biases inherent in divine revelations. So advancing humanism is a key component to achieving positive transformations in our world.

As theocratic interests in American government gain momentum, the American Humanist Association stands ready to meet the challenges of dismantling Christian privilege head-on via earned and paid media, lobbying public officials, bringing legal violations to court, engaging in public debate, working in coalition, and providing educational programs for adults and children. Its sister 501(c)(4) organization the Center for Freethought Equality, in addition to lobbying, has a political action committee that seeks to help elect open humanists to public office and pave the way for politicians to protect the interests of humanists and other nontheists.